MARK ROCHE hit four goals as Avenue Utd kept their place at top of the Premier Division with a comfortable 6-1 win over Kilrush Rangers.
Newmarket Celtic as expected overcame Mountshannon while Bridge Utd won on the road away to Lifford FC.
Roche hat-trick sees Avenue stay top
Avenue Utd 6
Kilrush Rangers 1
Venue: Roslevan
Better balanced and dominant in all aspects of the field, Avenue Utd emerged as deserving winners over Kilrush Rangers on Sunday morning.
David Russell’s side are nine points clear of Newmarket Celtic at the top of the table but their rivals have four extra games to play and will need to secure points here, making every single game vital.
From the off, this was evident with Avenue keen to exert their influence on proceedings. Eamonn O’Dea made his first save of the day from Mark Roche on nine minutes, a minute later his younger brother Jamie Roche had a goal disallowed as he was offside.
Ironically, another minute later Jamie opened the scoring, legitimately. A quick corner from Mark Roche to Jamie who recycled possession back, the cross broke to the edge of the box and the younger of the Roches brilliantly dispatched a low volley to the back of the net.
It was the elder of the Roches who doubled the advantage on eighteen minutes. Elias Kunz was fouled in the box, referee Brian Punch pointed to the penalty spot and Mark Roche made no mistake with his effort.
On the restart, another quick corner saw Avenue extend their lead. Nnabuike Nneji hit the post, the rebound fell to Mark Roche who stuck home his second goal of the day on fifty five mintues.
O’Dea stopped Roche from getting his hat-trick on fifty one minutes but his perseverance would soon pay off. The left winger was the provider for goal number four when he pulled the ball back to Eoghan Thynne with the gritty midfielder sticking the ball to the top left corner of the net.
From the edge of the box, Mark Roche collected his hat-trick on sixty five minutes with his best finish of the day. The occasion was sparked off with the return of Gary Roche to the club colours, following a stint abroad he has returned to the Avenue side as they bid to retain their Cup and League titles.
Substitute Mikey Dinan executed a volley well but was unable to beat O’Dea. From his save, the Kilrush goalkeeper kickstarted the move that ended up with them getting on the scoresheet, full-back Norbert Knucki had ventured up the field and clipped the ball over the head of Luke Woodrow to somewhat shorten the journey to Kilrush.
Another penalty saw Avenue hit home their sixth goal, again it was Mark Roche who hit the net, substitute Calum Barrett was fouled.
Dylan Barry at centre-half was excellent throughout for the winners along with the ever-impressive Nnabuike Nneji in the heart of their midfield while Mark Roche who finished with four goals also stood out. For Kilrush, Dean Neary was their best by far with goalkeeper Eamonn O’Dea also accounting well for himself despite conceding six goals.
Avenue: Luke Woodrow: Jamie Roche, Dylan Barry, Dylan Casey, Conor Hehir; Eoghan Thynne, Mark Roche, Nnabuike Nneji, Vincent Onouha, Mossy Hehir, Elias Kunz
Subs: Ronan Kerin for M Hehir (55), Mikey Dinan for Thynne (55), Philip Talty for Vincent (62), Calum Barrett for J Roche (62), Gary Roche for Kunz (69)
Kilrush Rangers: Eamonn O’Dea; Patryk Potenski, Kirill Antonov, Norbert Knucki; Patrick Clair, Richie Gajdelki, Dean Neary, Aaron Meaney, Trevor Clancy, Morgan Meskill.
Subs: Luke Talty for Meaney (19), Josh Neary for Potenski (65)
Referee: Brian Punch
Celtic keep the pressure on
Newmarket Celtic 3
Mountshannon Celtic 0
Venue: McDonagh Memorial Park
First half goals from James Fahy and Ronan McCormack followed by a second half penalty from Cathal Hayes saw Newmarket Celtic as expected past the challenge of winless Mountshannon Celtic.
A place in the First Division awaits the East Clare side next season where they will attempt to rebuild and pick up the pieces following a bruising campaign in the top flight.
Opting to rest players ahead of the FAI Junior Cup final, Newmarket Celtic still possessed plenty strength in depth with the experienced cohort of Darren Cullinan, Stephen Kelly and Ronan McCormack picking up valuable minutes.
Newmarket Celtic: Alan Reidy; Darren Cullinan, Eoin Kelly, Stephen Kelly, James Fahy; Cathal Hayes, Eunan Doherty, Davy Lennon, Garry Higgins, Ronan McCormack, Martin McCarthy.
Subs: Lee Cregan, Jashar Aliu, Tadhg Noonan, Alan Kelly, Gearoid O’Brien, Kevin Harnett.
Mountshannon Celtic: Seanie Doyle; Niall Dear, Michael O’Brien, Padraig Brody, Oran Scanlan, Brian Rodgers, Martin Cunningham, Michael Barrett, Dylan Bebbington, Harry Bogenberger, Cathal Doyle.
Subs: Gavin Moroney, Lee Harrington, Sean Browne, Niall Minogue
Maloney Garden Machinery Premier Division
Avenue United A 6-1 Kilrush Rangers
Newmarket Celtic A 3-0 Mountshannon Celtic
Lifford 1-2 Bridge Utd A
Banner Fire First Division:
Connolly Celtic 1-3 Kilkishen Celtic
Shannon Olympic 1-1 Bridge Utd B
Moher Celtic 0-4 Shannon Town B
